


It Burns

by untouchableface



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Angst, F/F, Implied Femslash, Past Lives, Reinako Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:13:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untouchableface/pseuds/untouchableface
Summary: Why reach out, when all you touch is fire?





	It Burns

Her skin... it burned. Every small touch was a new volcanic fire. And Minako wanted to forget, she wanted to pretend that this was something simple and sweet. That it was an accidental graze, that Mars had not meant to skin her kneecap or her shoulderblade with her careless fingers.

But it burned nonetheless. And as much as she could fake an innocent smile, as much as she could choke back the pain that came from an accidental touch, internally something deep and bitter melted at her core. Even if for a moment, she wanted to pretend that Mars as she was now could meet her blow for blow. That she would have someone she could melt into, someone that understood everything of who she had been and who she could become.

But this person beside her - this furious whirlwind of red and black – seemingly understood none of that. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to try and awaken her second in command, to prepare her for all the “what ifs.” But this new Mars, this Rei Hino, had a hundred people she was obligated to before she even looked Minako's way. Obligation and duty was one thing, but love was something else entirely.

Minako remembered it all. She remembered fighting, and she remembered running, To a secret tunnel nobody was supposed to know about. She remembered fighting her way in. The feeling of bare feet on hot asphalt. Swords and bullets criss-crossing the air. The ozone smell of blood being spilled, and the feeling of the earth shifting beneath her feet.

The sharp edge of metal felt so good alongside her own throat, but she was a coward and she could not pull her sword against her own flesh when it counted. As much as she wanted the easy way out, some domineering atom in her blood screamed for her to keep fighting to the end. And fight Venus did.

And now, she was here. In another life, in another time. And all of it was pre-written in the stars. The irony chafed her; as much as she longed to pull the metal along her own veins, something always stopped it from happening. She was weak. Nobody would truly love her, she was always the supporting player in another person's story.

Minako remembered the sweet taste of Mars, and that was her undoing. Her lover was earnest and urgent, her hands tangling in her hair as she reached for her face. Venus loved Mars, and Mars loved Venus. She remembered being pulled to Mars' lips, and all of the hasty promises that were whispered in the darkness, especially in those final moments. But for all that Venus still felt, Mars was a blank slate, if she was Mars at all.

The taste of her lingered on Minako's tongue, and she screamed silently. She was too much a coward to drown herself or find any other easy way out, and besides, Artemis was keeping too close a watch. But even he could not comprehend what it meant to taste the red thread of love only to have it pulled from your fingers. Luna loved Artemis and Artemis loved Luna.

And Minako, or Venus, or the both of them were left with the dizzying feeling that nobody would understand their dreams, no matter how much they tried to explain how much it mattered, and no matter how much they played their feelings off as a simple joke.


End file.
